Ingersoll Rand has been the standard at tire shops for decades. We started selling the IR231 impact gun back in the 1980s. At that time the Ingersoll product was preferred over many competitors including: Chicago Pneumatic (CP), Astro Pneumatic, and even Snap-On Tools.
Sure, automotive technicians would buy their sockets and wrenches (among other tools) from Snap-on, MAC, Matco, and Cornwell, but IR ruled the roost in impact guns.
Today the new tire-shop (and any auto repair shop for that matter) standard is still Ingersoll Rand. The IRT2135TiMAX and the IRT2135Ti-2MAX are the preferred impact guns. The 2MAX has a longer anvil to accommodate flip sockets.
But why choose Ingersoll Rand? The TiMAX is lightweight. That is important if you have to change tires all day. The gun weighs less than four pounds. That is the first thing technicians and shop owners notice when they pick up our TiMAX guns.
The true test is power and reliability. We are told over-and-over again the gun is needed to pull off the Honda crankshaft pulley bolts. The IR2135Ti-Max with the standard anvil is great for that purpose. Tire shops will sometimes want the IR2135Ti-2Max with its extended anvil.
We have also had experience selling the IR 2135QTiMAX. This is the quiet version of their regular TiMAX. The company says they patented the Quiet Tool technology.
The quiet (2135 Q TiMax) impact gun works great. It provides the same power in reverse (780 ft-lb (1054 Nm)), but may require some maintenance to retain that power. We have had customers tell us that their impact lost power after a few months of use. The tools were under warranty and were easily fixed.
We spoke to an IR rep at a recent trade show and found out why. They told us that the gun can be fixed by removing and cleaning the muffler / baffle at the exhaust port. It is simple to do with a small Philips screwdriver and cleaning fluid. The fix only takes a couple minutes.
See the video below for more information:
